Common Mistakes New Riders Make - And How to Fix Them

By Chain Reaction Motorcycle School

Every rider starts somewhere — usually with excitement, nerves, and a handful of habits that need refining. At Chain Reaction Motorcycle School, we’ve seen it all. From students who can’t remember which lever is the clutch or front brake, to those who forget to cancel their turn signals or forget to pull in the clutch before a stop, most early mistakes have one thing in common: they can be fixed with awareness, time, and practice.

1. Looking Down — and the Domino Effect

What is the most common mistake new riders make? Looking down. Whether it’s checking for the shifter, the clutch, or the brakes, the moment your eyes leave your path of travel, balance begins to fade. The next thing you know, the bike is stopping with the handlebars turned — and suddenly you’re doing one-legged squats with a motorcycle and your fitness is being tested without a gym membership.

Here’s a critical principle every rider must remember: where you look is where you are going to go. Taking your eyes off the path in front of you almost always leads to unintended steering or stopping errors.

The Fix: Before you ever fire up the engine, sit on your motorcycle and practice the process of smoothly starting, smoothly stopping, and smoothly shifting all with your eyes up. Motorcycles are all about the feel. We should feel the controls and look where we want to go. Build that muscle memory so your hands and feet know what to do instinctively. The more familiar you are with your bike’s layout, the less temptation you’ll have to look down — and the more natural your movements will feel when it counts.

Remind yourself and be conscious about keeping your eyes up. It’s the one thing that doesn’t seem to become muscle memory over time and is something you should continually be conscious of.

2. Being Too Quick and Not Smooth Enough

Another big one: being too abrupt. Many new riders make quick, jerky inputs — snappy throttle rolls (sometimes two of them), sudden grabby braking, or dumping of clutches. Quick movements might feel “decisive,” but on a motorcycle, they make your tires want to slide instead of stick, making it hard to control the bike and make it do what you want it to do. Smooth is not just fast — smooth is safe.

The Fix: Nothing should happen in a hurry on a motorcycle. Every control input — throttle, brake, clutch, and steering — should be slow, smooth, and fluid. Everything on the bike should be progressive — it should be eased or squeezed, not grabbed or stabbed.

For example, a good mental model for braking is to squeeze the lever gradually, like easing from 5% to 10% to 15% to 20% to 25% to 30%. This progressive approach gives your tires time to load and respond, making your ride predictable and precise. That same mental model can also be applied when rolling on the throttle — think of it as gently feeding power into the bike, not snapping it on. Smooth, progressive throttle control keeps the suspension stable, the tire contact consistent, and the ride far more controlled.

And once again, your eyes are your secret weapon. The further you look ahead, the slower everything appears to happen. That extra time to perceive and react lets you move more smoothly and confidently.

3. The Dunning-Kruger Trap — Overestimating Skill, Underestimating Risk

Every rider faces a tricky psychological curve — the Dunning-Kruger effect. It’s that phase where you’ve learned just enough to feel confident, but not enough to realize how much you don’t know yet. Many riders at this stage start taking risks that exceed their current abilities — and that’s when things get dangerous.

Even when you’re good enough to start, stop, shift, and turn comfortably, you shouldn’t stop there. Continue to refine and improve your abilities. Even the best riders never stop developing their skills. Nobody is too good to stop refining — and the ones who truly excel understand that mastery is a moving target. After all, nobody is too good to stop refining. The more experience you gain, the more you realize how much there is left to learn. The moment you stop learning is the moment you start regressing.

The Fix: Recognize that mastering a motorcycle takes time and intentional practice. Actual skill comes from repetition and reflection — not just riding more, but riding with purpose. Constantly evaluate the variables of risk:

* Yourself: Are you focused, calm, and physically ready to ride?

* Your Bike: Is it maintained and safe?

* Your Environment: What’s happening with traffic, road conditions, and visibility?

You can’t manage risk if you don’t know where it exists. Developing your ability to assess and adjust is what separates a good rider from a great one.

4. It’s a Mental Game

Riding a motorcycle is as much a mental discipline as it is a physical one. Awareness, judgment, and foresight are the foundation of every safe and skilled rider. Yes, mastering the clutch and throttle takes time — but understanding what’s happening around you is what keeps you in control.

That’s why professional motorcycle training is so valuable. At Chain Reaction Motorcycle School, we help riders not only build their physical control but also sharpen their mental skills. We teach you what you don’t know — and how to grow into the rider you want to be.

Because in the end, great riders aren’t born — they’re built—one smooth, intentional ride at a time.

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Chain Reaction Motorcycle School is located in Weld County, Colorado.

For more information visit https://www.chainreactionmotorcycleschool.com/

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